Musical tuning

This page is about musical 'systems' of tuning, for the musical 'process' of tuning see tuning.

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Musical tuning is the system used to define which tones, or pitches, to use when playing music. In other words, it is the choice of number and spacing of frequency values which are used. The tuning systems are usually defined in such a way that a listener perceives it as "natural".

Related Topics:
Tone - Pitch - Music - Frequency

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Due to the psycho-acoustic properties of tones, various pitch combinations will sound more or less "natural" when used in combination. For example, a tone caused by a vibration twice the speed of another (the ratio of 1:2) forms the "natural" sounding octave. Another "natural" resonance found in musical scales the world over is the ratio of 1:3 (2:3 when octave reduced) which is often called a perfect fifth. More complex musical effects can be created through other relationships (Mathieu, 1997).

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Building a tuning system is complicated when musicians want to make music with more than just a few differing tones. As the number of tones is increased, conflicts arise in how each tone combines with every other. Finding a successful combination of tunings has been the cause of debate, and has lead to the creation of many different tuning systems across the world. Each tuning system has its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses.

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